By Andrew Bansal
Las Vegas-based doom metal quintet Demon Lung are ready to release their second full-length album ‘A Dracula’ via Candlelight Records, a set of tunes inspired by the 1977 horror movie ‘Alucarda’, and recorded in Oregon under the masterful guidance of Billy Anderson. Demon Lung’s spellbinding live rituals have made them a standout, and they are without doubt the finest heavy music export to come out of Las Vegas in a long, long time. While their 2012 EP ‘Pareidolia’ and the 2013 debut full-length ‘The Hundredth Name’ were appreciable attempts at capturing on record the intensity and aura of themselves as a live band, ‘A Dracula’ truly supersedes both those releases.
The eerie, melodic minute-long intro piece ‘Rursumque Alucarda’ beautifully sets the path for this journey, and ‘Behold, The Daughter’ leads the way with a full-on barrage of quintessential doom heaviness, complemented brilliantly by Shanda Frederick’s soulful lead vocals and the band’s usage of a synth layer. The relatively down-tempo but more dynamic ‘I Am Haunted’ explores the interaction between the heavy and melodic elements to an even greater extent, and this trend continues throughout the entire album, as track by track, the collective creative force behind Demon Lung expresses itself more and more, each layer of the sound allowed to breathe to its fullest capacity.
‘Gypsy Curse’ and ‘Mark Of Jubilee’ are absolute standouts, but there’s an undeniable flow within each track and through the album, and Demon Lung succeed in bringing complete justice to the subject material that has inspired ‘A Dracula’. The progressive tendencies of their songwriting style on this album certainly transcends them beyond being perceived as just another run-of-the-mill repetitive minimalistic doom metal band.
With the addition of these tunes to their repertoire, Demon Lung are poised to develop into an even more powerful band on stage. But purely as an album, ‘A Dracula’ is best listened to in peaceful solitude, through headphones. The overall sonic expression of ‘A Dracula’ stands up to the magnitude of its title in terms of its monstrosity, but is equally pristine, rich and ritualistic.
A compellingly progressive, psychedelic interpretation of all things doom.
Rating: 8.5/10
Record Label: Candlelight
Release Date: June 29th 2015
Track Listing:
1. Rursumque Alucarda
2. Behold, The Daughter
3. I Am Haunted
4. Gypsy Cursem
5. Deny The Savior
6. Mark Of Jubilee
7. Rursumque Adracula
8. Raped By The Serpent
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